Google sets up person finder database for Sendong victims

Interaksyon.com writer J.M. Tuazon writes, "Search engine giant Google on Monday made available a ’person finder’ utility to aid relatives of those affected by Typhoon Sendong in getting information about their loved ones. Through the person finder database, users can [input the] names of their missing relatives.

Interaksyon.com writer J.M. Tuazon writes, "Search engine giant Google on Monday made available a ’person finder’ utility to aid relatives of those affected by Typhoon Sendong in getting information about their loved ones. Through the person finder database, users can [input the] names of their missing relatives."

Tuazon pointed out that the same person finder "proved invaluable when it was put up during the twin-disasters in Japan (killer quake and tsunami, as well as the complications of the aftermath), which wiped away entire provinces and left many people disconnected from their relatives."

However, Tuazon also noted that "Google clarified that it does not verify or review the accuracy of the data entered by people into the database." The system relies on the good intentions of its users.

Tuazon also listed other "online tools" to aid Sendong victims such as the Facebook group "Mata na, CDO." The Cagayan de Oro group "updates prospective donors about "the immediate needs of the typhoon victims, where they can take their cash or in-kind donations, and where they can direct their relatives in Mindanao to safety and assistance."

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Meanwhile, Tuazon revealed that "enterprising students of Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT), meanwhile, decided to take the simple #OneForIligan hashtag on Twitter and spawned the One for Iligan website, where "users can peruse an interactive map that shows exact locations of news and social media reports on casualties, sites for evacuation and medical assistance, as well as missing persons in the area."